Going underground: Julie Aars on Snøhetta’s extension of the Ordrupgaard Museum

In 2005, the Ordrupgaard Museum in Charlottenlund, north of Copenhagen, first attracted the attention of the international architecture scene when Zaha Hadid added an organically shaped extension to the manor house from 1918 country residence. The task for Snøhetta in what is now the second museum extension was therefore anything but easy – on the one hand because of the formal presence of Hadid's building, and on the other because it meant that practically all the usable space on the site had been built on. As a logical consequence, the largest part of Snøhetta’s extension is underground. Only a sculptural stainless steel cube on the museum forecourt points to the new exhibition halls. In our interview, Julie Aars, project manager at Snøhetta, explains the concept and the sources of inspiration for the design.

Find more images and drawings of Snøhetta’s museum extension here.

We feature this project in Detail 10.2021.